ECB member warns of addiction December 21, 2009 Banks should not become addicted to central bank money, European Central Bank executive board member Juergen Stark said yesterday. He also said the ECB would remove its non-traditional measures gradually and progressively, and warned that the longer the extraordinary support remains in place, the worse their side effects would become.
EU bypasses car repair rules December 21, 2009 European Union regulators yesterday proposed to continue letting carmakers set up exclusive repair networks and bypass antitrust rules for three more years due to limited competition in the sector. But the European Commission, the EU’s executive, said it planned to scrap antitrust exemptions for restricted car sales dealerships as there was already fierce competition in [...]
US media groups go bankrupt December 21, 2009 Three more media companies, including broadcaster Citadel Broadcasting, have filed for bankruptcy, brought low by the drop in advertising revenue and crushing debt loads. Citadel, the third-largest US radio broadcaster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Manhattan yesterday, hurt by $2.08bn (£1.29bn) in debt and a decline in advertising by auto, banking and restaurant [...]
GM goes for outsider as finance chief December 21, 2009 GENERAL Motors yesterday hired Chris Liddell, the chief financial officer of Microsoft , as its new finance chief, filling a key position with the carmaker’s highest-profile hire since its July bankruptcy. The hire brings another well known car industry outsider to GM’s shifting senior executive team at a time when it has been struggling to [...]
Nordic nations loan €300m to Iceland December 21, 2009 ICELAND’S central bank yesterday said it had received a loan tranche worth €300m(£267m) from Nordic countries, part of the country’s loan programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The bank said in an emailed statement that Iceland had actually been authorised to draw up to €444m by early January, but that €144m was to be [...]
Oppenheim bosses head for the exit December 21, 2009 TOP management at stricken wealth manager Sal Oppenheim were last night understood to be preparing to step down, sources, said putting new owner Deutsche Bank in the driver’s seat faster than expected. With regulators casting a critical eye on Sal Oppenheim’s losses and the bank’s loans to top executives, the bank’s four senior managers are [...]
Tepper makes $7bn profit December 21, 2009 Hedge fund firm Appaloosa Management, run by David Tepper, has made about $7bn (£4.4bn) of profit so far this year, Reuters reported yesterday. Through February and March, Tepper scooped up beaten-down bank shares as many investors were running for the exits. He bought Bank of America shares, then trading below $3, and Citigroup preferred shares, [...]
Chinese miner ditches US deal December 21, 2009 A Chinese mining company has withdrawn from a deal with Nevada mining company Firstgold after the Obama administration objected on national security grounds, Firstgold’s chief executive said yesterday. “They basically let me know it was a tough call, but they felt they would not have success with the appeal and didn’t feel it was in [...]
END OF THE ROAD December 21, 2009 THE end of the road for Sweden’s Saab looks near after talks to sell the company owned by General Motors broke down. GM plans to shut Saab after failing to strike a deal with Spyker Cars of the Netherlands, although it was evaluating several new enquiries last night including a renewed offer from Spyker. The [...]
Dawson sees loss as media December 21, 2009 MEDIA services company Dawson Holdings has reported a pre-tax loss of £6.1m in the year to the end of September, which compares with a £3.5m profit the year before as the recession takes its toll. Dawson said it had established a package of cost-cutting measures in an attempt to improve its finances. The bleak figures [...]